Several Staten Islanders charged in Bonanno family indictment

U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell announces a mob bust on Feb. 7, 2008. After today's arrests, Campbell vowed his office won't rest until members "dismantle the entire Bonanno crime family, and each of the other families of La Cosa Nostra."STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
-- Several Staten Islanders have been arrested in a sweeping indictment of reputed members of the
Bonanno crime family.

The 33-count
indictment, which was unsealed this morning in Brooklyn Federal Court, charges 15 with an array of offenses,
including racketeering, conspiracy
to commit assault, threatening
violence, gambling and
extortion.

Former Islander Joseph Sammartino, 55, now a New Jersey resident, was also charged. He is allegedly a Bonanno captain and a member of the family's ruling panel.

"Members of organized crime continue to victimize our
communities with their brand of violence and criminal activity," said U.S.
Attorney Benton J. Campbell. "We will not rest until we dismantle the entire
Bonanno crime family, and each of the other families of La Cosa
Nostra."

In one alleged
incident, one of the defendants told a loanshark victim who fell behind in
payments "you're lucky we don't saw you in half and leave you in the
woods."

The indictment is the latest in an ongoing investigation that has resulted in the prosecution of more than 125 members and associates of the Bonanno family in the Eastern District of New York.